Juventus vs Barcelona: 5 reasons why the Old Lady will win against the Blaugrana

5 reasons why Juventus are the favourites to beat Barcelona tonight in the Champions League

The Champions League is back and it is back with a bang! Juventus take on Barcelona in tonight’s blockbuster Champions League clash and it promises to be a match worth watching.

While Barcelona are undoubtedly one of the favourites for the title (especially after their incredible comeback against PSG), one cannot discount the Italian Champions especially when they are playing at home.

Without much ado, let us take a look at 5 reasons why Juventus can get the better of Barcelona tonight:

#5 The absence of Sergio Busquets

The all-conquering Barcelona side have an attacking trident which is the envy of the whole world. However, the player who is most vital for Barcelona’s unique system to work is Sergio Busquets. The Spaniard often does the dirty work in the middle of the park without which Barcelona cannot play the beautiful football which they are renowned for.

The Spaniard is known for the pivotal midfield anchor role he plays at Barcelona. A hard-working and tactically astute player he excels at breaking play in midfield due to his positional sense and defensive skills. He is the reason Barcelona can control possession and play their quick passing football without moving into the defensive pass.

Although Busquets has not been at his best this season, he is extremely important to the Catalan giants and they certainly lack conviction whenever Busquets is missing. The importance of Busquets to the team can perhaps be best summed up by Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. In spite of the rivalry and one incidence of a red card earned due to Busquets' play acting, this is what Sergio Ramos had to say about him:

"There are a number of players I like, but the one we perhaps need is Busquets"

Juventus will certainly be licking their lips at the prospect of facing Barcelona without perhaps their most important player.